Cyprus is ready to delimit its maritime boundaries with Greece, Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said Friday, though...

Cyprus is ready to delimit its maritime boundaries with Greece, Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said Friday, though he stressed that a formal agreement will require a decision at the highest political level and careful timing on both sides. Kombos made the remarks to the House finance committee while presenting his ministry's budget for next year. He said technical preparations on the Cypriot side have been complete for some time, but added that "a series of political parameters must be taken into account." He described the issues as "very delicate" and said discussions with Athens would continue, adding that "the right time must be found." His statement came at the end of a week in which the Libyan parliament ratified its maritime boundary agreement with Turkey, a deal that both Nicosia and Athens regard as infringing on Greek territorial waters. That Turkey-Libya agreement drew a line southeast of Crete, in waters Greece considers its own exclusive economic zone under UNCLOS. Cyprus already has maritime delimitation agreements with Egypt, Israel, and Lebanon. Greece signed its own agreement with Egypt in 2020. A Cyprus-Greece deal, however, remains unsigned, and Kombos acknowledged that any such agreement would have consequences beyond the two countries, citing the need for caution. At the heart of the dispute is whether islands are entitled to a full EEZ under international law. Greece and Cyprus say yes, citing UNCLOS. Turkey and Libya say no, a position that underpins Ankara's broader "Blue Homeland" doctrine of expansive maritime claims across the eastern Mediterranean. Kombos said both the will and the ideas exist to move forward, but gave no timeline for when a Cyprus-Greece agreement might be signed. #Cyprus #Greece #EasternMediterranean